Final day…Goodbye Belize…Thank you for a wonderful experience…

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The sky and the sea offered us a pleasing goodbye this morning. 

Last night, full and content after a homemade meal, we lounged in the cozy living room of our villa with our two friends, Bill from Minnesota and Rene, a citizen of Belize, the general manager here at Laru Beya. 

While drinking local Belikin beer (I had tea) lively conversation ensued. It was fun learning more about Belize and our guests rounding out the last of new friendships made while here. Hopefully, in the future, our paths will cross again.

We’re relieved to be packed as of this morning, except for a few toiletries, for the morning.

All of our documents are in order. This morning we took care of our bill at the front desk, which was $502.50 for the two months. This includes tours, dinners in the restaurant, cocktails, car rental, beer purchased a few times at happy hour for US $2 each, laundry charges, and tips. Our winter heating bill in Minnesota was almost as much for one month.  We didn’t flinch. 

The simple beauty of the clouds and the sky left us breathless every morning. Today was no exception.

With everything packed a wave of excitement washed over me. Finally! I’ve been waiting for that feeling. Why not be excited with two months of cruising ahead of us, including 13 nights in Dubai? Why not start my usual “jumping up and down,” leaving behind any doubt or negative expectations?

Last night before bed at 11:00, we froze two-liter bottles with iced tea and one with water. With little time for breakfast tomorrow, we’ll stick to a piece of cheese along with a single cup of coffee each, hoping to keep the potty breaks to a minimum during the four-hour drive.  Last time, we only stopped once. 

This final day is ours to enjoy lounging by the pool, taking a final walk along the beach, saying our goodbyes to the staff, dining on tasty leftovers from last night, and finally letting our heads hit the pillows by 10:00 PM with pleasant dreams of our upcoming travels.

Shortly after arriving on the ship, we plan to take photos of our cabin prior to filling it with our stuff and, again a day later, after unpacking while Tom does his “magic” hiding the suitcases in the tiny space.  For the 11 days of our first leg, we’ll unpack two bags each, leaving the remainder untouched to be shipped on the 13th. 

We never tired of the view, especially when the clouds rolled by in many mornings.

Once we have signed up for access to the ship’s Internet service, we’ll be back here with photos and the story of the hopefully seamless transition from Placencia Belize to boarding the Carnival Liberty by tender in Belize City. 

Will we come back to Belize someday?  Perhaps. But, we have a lot of world to see ahead of us. We’ll carry memories of  Belize with us in our hearts and minds forever.

Stay tuned…

At a loss for words…

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These two palm trees fell into the ocean overnight, due to erosion, rough surf, and wind. Notice the vendors in the background preparing their handmade crafts for sale.

Since our first post in March 2012, I’ve never been at a loss for a topic until today. Each morning, while checking the stats for this blog, marveling in the number of readers from all over the world, something pops into my head. My fingers fly across the keyboard with a mind of their own, as if my hands contain the thoughts as opposed to my brain. 

This morning, after responding to email from two people I adore, my inspiring cousin Phyllis and my new equally inspiring friend Nancy, whom I met in Belize, I stared at my keyboard with nary a thought of what to write.

Originally, I wrote every other day, leaving time for events to occur as fodder for writing. Alas, once we left the US, the desire to “take pen to paper” escalated to everyday posts.  I don’t think I’ve missed a day, but I’m open to correction.

Why write a blog?  The plan was to offer it as a means of keeping family and friends privy to where we were, what we were doing, and our current state of safety in our travels. Lo and behold, since we left the US, the stats began showing tens of thousands of visits to our blog, from all over the world. 

Suddenly, I felt compelled to write, not in a feeling-pressure kind of way, but in a joyful-can’t-wait-to-write kind of way.  So, here I am, writing anyway, with the hope that those who drink their coffee and read, as I drink mine and write, will not upset their routine and, I will not upset mine.

Mr. Iguana stopped to say hello to me as I walked along the path to the little workout room. He actually stopped dead in his tracks to peer at me. Thank you, Mr. Iguana!

All I have to offer today, feeling somewhat drained from a poor night’s sleep, is my own “mindless drivel,” not unlike the endless books that I’ve been consuming on a regular basis. 

Yesterday, I expanded my reading horizons and downloaded a book from Amazon to both my no-contract phone and my laptop from Oprah’s Book Club, hoping to fire my brain in a more “artsy” way with a fine piece of literature. 

Reading, “She’s Come Undone” by Wally Lamb, I became entrenched in the characters reminding me of my less than ideal childhood, growing up in the ’50s, so very long ago. 

Little did I know that my “golden years” would be spent in any manner other than sitting in a chair by the window, growing old, reliving memories of a life long past, as I had witnessed in my youth, as my relatives entered old age.

Little did I anticipate, that I’d be sitting here on a Sunday morning, in a pink flowery bathing suit, overlooking the majesty of the ocean, next to the man of my dreams, and writing a “blog” about traveling the world for the next so many years. 

My dear cousin lovingly writes “don’t be worried” after reading yesterday’s post. But I, like many of us, sometimes worry. Sometimes, worry inspires us to be cautious, treading gently in dangerous waters. The important part, for most of us, is the ability to let the worry go once the worrisome event has passed. That’s me. I do that. I let it go. 

This was my view, this morning as I sat on a step at Robert’s Grove putting on my workout shoes for my last workout session in Belize. The lines are streams of water falling into the pool.

So, in two days, when our zillion bags (soon to be half a zillion) are secured in our mini-suite balcony cabin aboard the Carnival Liberty (click here for reviews), I will let the worry go, feeling once again, that we have landed firmly on our feet from yet another transition. Will sewage be floating down the halls? Will we be eating onion sandwiches? 

I hope not. For now, I won’t worry about that.

A glorious morning…Three days and counting…

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Goodbye view! We’ll always remember or we can always check here to be reminded of how much we’ve enjoyed this resort and beach.

After a night of fitful sleep, I awoke at 4:44, wide awake, thoughts running through my mind.  “When does the “motor” stop running?” I asked myself, longing to go back to sleep.

 The gentle sound of the sea at night has been soothing.

Picking up my smartphone-with-no-contract from under my pillow while putting on my spectacles-for-old-age on my eyes, I continued reading the Kindle app where I left off last night. Mindless reading. Not necessarily worthy of mention.

This is the beach we walked almost every day in Belize. We’ll miss this.

Fortunately, it was mindless enough that I dozed off to sleep for yet another hour, dreaming about what I had read.  Oh, yes, clutter my mind with mindless drivel so I don’t go there…my own worrisome thoughts as we near the end of our time in Belize.

As I lay there the second time, contemplating arising, a refreshing thought hit my brain.  No worrisome thoughts are necessary!  I’m a girl (albeit an old girl) that will be cruising for the next two-plus months (except for the 13 nights in Dubai and two separate hotel nights in Barcelona between cruises) and I’ll be looking forward to the following:

1.  No bed to make
2.  No meals to cook or grocery shopping
3.  No dishes to wash
4.  No laundry (perhaps a little hand washing)
5.  No cleaning (only tidying. Tom picks up after himself)
6.  At least one fun dress-up night a week
7.  The ocean around us with breathtaking photo ops
8.  Socializing if we choose, or not
9.  Three pools at which to lounge
10. Movie theatres inside and outdoors (we love movies)
11. Live entertainment if we so choose
12. Educational seminars
13. Ports to visit
14. Tom can drink and I don’t have to drive home
15. Easy access to a fully-equipped fitness center

These are the key points that appeal to me. For Tom, he’s enjoys all the above, except for the health club.  These points drove my mind to a place of imagination.  Imagine, we were living somewhere and were preparing to go on six cruises, almost back to back.  I’d be jumping up and down with excitement.  Tom would be doing his usual smile, enthusiasm tempered with no apparent jumping up and down.

Caribbean Sea, thanks for sharing with us!

Can I let go of all of the things that can go wrong in the six hours from leaving here Tuesday morning at 8:00 am until we’re aboard the ship by approximately 2:00 PM? Only six hours, I keep reminding myself. Only six hours. 

“Get a grip!” I tell myself, “Get a grip!”

It’s all in the details…Four days and counting…

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Natural vegetation around our resort.

Oh, good grief!  Could there be more details to handle before we leave? It’s not as simple as packing our bags and hitting the road.  We knew this going in. 

It’s easy for me to remember how much work it was to handle a single two-week vacation. In 2011, Tom and I went to Hollywood, Florida for a convention. With social events many nights, the packing was challenging. It wasn’t a matter of a few pairs of jeans, shorts, tee shirts, a dress, underwear, and toiletries.

This wooden alligator hand-carved by a local craftsman.  Up close, the detail is riveting with individually hand-carved teeth

Yes, I’ll admit that I like a different outfit and its accompanying accessories every night.  That’s who I am.  People who know me well, get this, teasing me endlessly for my particular nature. However, I’ve tempered my need for a variety of adopting a “mix and match” philosophy, turning one outfit into many.  That seems to work well when traveling. 

Windy, cloudy day today.

So, as of today, my entire travel wardrobe, including shoes, bags, underwear, bathing suits, dress-up and casual wear is situated in two suitcases packed and ready to go.  I did it. I let “stuff” go. Tom has two large equally stuffed bags, packed and ready to go.

Our goal by the time we left Belize, was to have three large bags, packed with the items we’re letting go to send to my sister in Los Angeles to store until we need them. Right now, two of those three bags are packed. The third contains miscellaneous items we can’t let go: prescriptions, medical supplies, steamer, beach towels, etc. 

While sitting at the pool today, we met a lovely newlywed couple, but ran indoors when the skies opened to giant raindrops.

The reality, after days of sorting and resorting, is that we may end up with five large suitcases after we ship two, not three bags to Julie. The rest is carry-on. 

We will fly six times in the next 18 months:  Dubai to Barcelona, Rome to Kenya, Kenya to South Africa, South Africa to Morocco, Morocco to Madeira, Madeira to who knows where? We have 3 1/2 months to “kill” that we haven’t yet planned.) Most of these airlines have recently changed their checked bag policies. 

A few months ago, Emirates Airlines, which we’ll fly on May 21, 2013, from Dubai to Barcelona, allowed two checked bags of 30 kg (66 pounds each). Now it’s down to one bag. The cost for a 2nd bag is in the $100’s if not more depending on the weight. 

We discuss our options such as storage facilities in various locations along the way. We haven’t decided yet, but will soon.

Reading this, I am sure many may think, “GET RID OF MORE STUFF!”  Sounds practical. But, a reality few ever faced, this is everything we own. We have no home to go back to in order to repack. Many world travelers do.  Everything we own is with us in this villa right now.  EVERYTHING!  Oops! Our tax records and documents are stored with son in Nevada. 

The next detail that we finally solved was getting all of our six boarding passes printed. There was some glitch between my sending them via email to the front desk. After several attempts, I contacted our cruise guy, Joaquin, who happened to be on vacation. Alas, our guy came through sending us new PDF documents for all of our cruises.  Tim, at the desk, printed them all.  Now, we’re set all the way through to our cruise on June 4, 2013.

The cruise lines send documents to passengers, which include luggage tags one must print themselves, using sticky paper. Who has sticky paper? Not us. 

Calling the cruise lines using Skype, I verified in each case that we can get luggage tags from the porters when our bags at taken from us at the pier.  On our two earlier cruises this year, they were mailed to us. These cruise lines no longer mail the luggage tags: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian, all of which we’ll be on in the next two months. 

Of course, we have our own permanent luggage tags on each of our bags but cruise lines handle so much luggage, they want the pre-printed cabin number and name on each piece of luggage to avoid delays.  Understandable. 

This morning, Tom stated, “Gee, I wonder what passengers older than us, who don’t have printers or even computers at home, manage to print their documents.”  Good point.  As I mentioned yesterday, electronic documents attached to a person’s passport or other ID would be an ideal solution. 

Yesterday, we confirmed our private shuttle for the four-hour drive to Belize City on Tuesday (on the scary road).  I kindly asked if they could have either the windows open (we couldn’t open them) this time or turn on the AC.   It was 90 humid degrees that day, resulting in four hours of hot sweaty bouncing on the rough, winding,  treacherous road. The owner of the shuttle company promised they’d have AC working.

We’re eating all of our remaining food in the freezer. Tonight, bacon cheeseburgers (no bun), pork chops, and coleslaw, an odd combination. Tomorrow, the same and Sunday, we’ve invited our local friends for homemade low carb GF pizza and salad, our favorite staple for which we have all the ingredients.

Winding down.  I keep telling Tom that within six hours of leaving here at 8:00 am Tuesday morning we’ll be on the ship, unpacking in our cabin on the Carnival Liberty (oh, please Carnival, no incidents!). I say this to comfort myself as well as Tom.

At that point, we can relax looking forward to staying put for 11 days until we switch ships at the pier in Miami for the journey across the ocean on the Norwegian Epic, a huge five-star ship.

There is nothing more we can do today. Soon, we’ll venture out to the pool for our hour of lounging in a lawn chair, dipping in the water every 15 minutes to cool off.  We’ll miss the pool, the staff, the people, our friends, the expanse of the ocean at our door, our time on the veranda, our walks along the beach, the sounds of the birds, and the breathtaking vegetation.

Soon, we’ll have a new place to embrace. It’s all good.

Last night out to dinner in Belize…Packing…Photos…

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Hopefully, our new camera takes better night photos Tom standing outside Mango’s last night.
Last night we went to Mango’s a popular local bar and restaurant with our friend Bill from Minnesota. We headed to Maya Beach, a five-minute drive north of us. Bill has wheels. Tom, Bill, and I headed out around 6:00 PM.
Mango’s menu had several good options.

On the way, we stopped at a nearby grocery store to look for contact lens solutions. No such luck. With only five more nights until we board the Carnival Liberty in Belize City, I’ve decided that if I run out of solution, I’ll sleep in my contacts, using eye drops in the mornings.

 The backside of Mango’s menu.

Once aboard the ship, it should be easy to find the solution.  Most certainly, the tiny drugstore in Placencia village has the solution. As I mentioned earlier, paying the $25 round trip cab fare doesn’t make sense. If each time we run out of an item incurring additional expenses to procure it, the budget can get out of control. That’s a situation we’d like to avoid.

Over the two-plus months we’ve lived in Belize, we heard many comments about Mango’s reputation as a fun spot for locals to hang out at the bar and dine on delicious fresh food cooked to order by their locally famous chef, Rachel Welch. 

Look at the size of Tom’s Margarita.  Add that smile for a winning combo.  He had two of these monstrosities.

Yes, her name is Rachel Welch, as in the US actress.  Apparently, when people starting talking about her name, she had no clue who Rachel Welch was. By now, she is familiar with her namesake.  It has become a local point of humor. She’s a native of Belize with long dreadlocks and looks nothing like Rachel Welch. Regardless of whose name she similarly bears, Rachel is a great cook. 

Me and my club soda and lime.  Cocktails would be more fun!

I had one of the best meals I’d had while dining out while in Belize. Ordering the special of the day, an 8-ounce grass-fed burger the waitress looked at me in amazement. She looked inquisitively at me asking, “Do you know that’s a full half-pound of meat?”

I chuckled, “Yes, I do!  Bring it on!” She shook her head, surprised by my answer, wondering if, in fact, I’d eat the entire thing. I did.

The quaint restaurant was hopping.

The burger was stuffed and topped with grilled onions, mushrooms, and blue cheese (minus the bun) along with a generous portion of the most amazing sautéed vegetables. Bill and Tom had the same. The total bill for the night was Belize $132 with tip, which is US $66.

The place was hopping with lively conversation with a seemingly constant flow of customers. Looking around while sitting at our three-person table, Tom and I acknowledge that we would have enjoyed coming here on a regular basis. 

However, based on the prices, although reasonable, we could easily have spent US $70 a week with cab fare if we’d stopped in once a week, resulting in an added expense of approximately $800 for our time in Belize. With the added expense we incurred for rent when moving to LaruBeya on February 5, 2013, the money we’d lost on the last property, we had to forego unplanned expenses. 

Mango’s bar, a favorite haunt for locals.

It’s all part of the process. We never want to be in a position whereby we’re overrunning our budget having to “dip into” other resources. At that point, we’d be forced to “settle down” a decision we’d prefer not to make under duress if at all possible. 

Yesterday afternoon, we began the process of printing our boarding passes and cruise documents with the support of LaruBeya’s customer service desk who gladly agreed to print all of our documents on their printer.  Tom felt uncomfortable using our thermal paper portable printer for these documents, me less so. 

With the five sets of cruise documents printed and placed into our “Cruise Documents” manila envelope, kept in one of our two computer bags, we’re good to go. The documents for our upcoming 6th cruise in this time period, scheduled to sail on June 4th, are yet to be available online for printing with 63 days until the sailing. 

If we can’t get them printed prior to leaving here next Tuesday, we’ll print them in the computer center on one of the other cruises. Hopefully, in time the cruise lines will use electronic documents only. The unnecessary page after page of printed material is wasteful and pointless.  Surprisingly, Carnival only required a one-page boarding pass, in itself, progress. 

Now, back to packing.  Instead of packing all at once, we’re doing it in bite-sized pieces each day. This time it’s more complicated than it will be in the future.  After all, we’re packing three large suitcases with belongings we’re saying goodbye to for what may prove to be a very long time. 

As we’ve discovered how difficult it is to find contact lens solution, perhaps I wasn’t so nuts after all, packing a two year’s supply of products we frequently use. At the time, I thought the solution could easily be replaced. Not so the case.

We continue on in five more days.

Winding down at the local health club…Photos of a walk…

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The walk under the trees from  Laru Beya to Roberts Grove Resort.

Within a day of getting situated at LaruBeya, we made our way along the beach to the property next door to us, Roberts Grove Resort, a kitschy, high energy, busy vacation spot entrenched in endless activities and jammed with guests.

One of the three pools along the walk to the health club at Robert’s Grove.

Over our two-plus months here, we’ve frequently meandered next door for dining in their three restaurants, but most of all, for me to use their air-conditioned health club. The fee for non-hotel guests is US $35 a month. At this time, LaruBeya doesn’t have a workout facility.

We duck under the bushes along the walk.

Small, the size of a standard hotel room, the health club is less of a “club” and more a fitness room with a stationary bike, elliptical, treadmill, a universal gym, and free weights. Definitely compact but exactly what I’ve needed to maintain my high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocol, which I do faithfully twice a week for only 10 minutes each time. 

I use the stationary bike or the elliptical machine at the highest level of intensity, at intervals of 30 seconds for a total of 10 minutes every other time I work out.

This is not an easy 10 minutes. It’s 10 minutes of excruciating work. Ten minutes of groaning, grunting, sweating work. But, then, in 10 minutes, it’s over. Add to that, an effort to walk 10,000 steps per day (not always easy to do in this lazy lifestyle) and my fitness level is improving day by day.

The main pool at Robert’s Grove.

Living in Minnesota, I discovered HIIT last spring while reading the book, The Smarter Science of Slim by Jonathan Bailor I worked out five to six days a week for no less than one hour per day. Not surprisingly, I got into a monotonous routine achieving little results while barely maintaining my level of fitness.

This picture was taken this morning by one of the women I met in the workout room. 

Most of my life, I’ve worked out in a concerted effort to avert the many illnesses that ran rampant in my family history; heart disease, diabetes, joint and spine disorders, and in many cases, obesity. 

The wood sidewalk on the way to Robert’s Grove front desk where I pick up the key to the health club each time I work out.

Not entirely dodging the bullet, I’ve always felt that my exercise efforts paid off, coupled with tight controls on what I ate.  It was never fun and it was never easy. But I plodded along.

The walk along the main restaurant to the fitness room.

As I’ve mentioned many times in this blog, 20 months ago, both Tom and I drastically changed our diet to a renewed level of health and well being, that we’ve committed to maintaining for whatever time we are blessed to have left on this earth. He lost 45 pounds, was able to stop taking seven prescription pills per day, and continues to maintain his weight. (He’d better! His clothes won’t fit if he gains it back.  We’ve already replaced everything once with his weight loss).

The path continues…

It’s not always easy, especially avoiding all sugar, starch, and grains, but it’s rewarding figuring out meals that are both healthful and satisfying for both Tom and me. Tom is less strict than I, enjoying foods that would precipitate illness in me and as I’ve mentioned causing him no ill effects. 

Finally, the tiny workout room at Robert’s Grove, where I’ve worked out the past over two months.

During this morning’s workout, I met three other exercise enthusiasts, two women, and one man, all looking fit and healthy.  I had only encountered two men working out in all my prior sessions over the past two months.  With only one more workout before we leave Belize in six days, I’ll look forward to my workout facilities, aboard our upcoming six cruises over the next two months.

This is the tight interior of the workout room.  I use all of these machines at high levels (HIIT) for 10 minutes.

Working out around the world will continue, no matter where we may be.  If no facility is available, I’ll perform HIIT exercises inside or outdoors at our vacation home wherever that may be. 

Tom, much to my surprise continues to walk with me each day, claiming he’s doing it “for me.” 

For us, flexibility, being active, a healthy diet, some supplements, low stress, restful sleep, a harmonious life, mental challenges, including learning, searching, and discovering, surrounding ourselves with upbeat people, seems to have a profound effect on our health. Throw in a large dose of laughter on a continuing basis and we have our “prescription” for living a full and healthy life. 

Of course, there’s no guarantee for longevity or avoidance of illness.  But for us, it is a guarantee for happiness and well being, one day at a time.

Oh no, water trouble…

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This morning, with another sunny day upon us, I took this photo of the various boats available for resort guests to use. They were moved near our veranda over the weekend to make room further down the beach for a wedding.

Late afternoon on Easter Sunday, a notice was delivered to our villa that there were issues with the water supply in Placencia.  The letter asked that we use as little water as possible stating the water wasn’t fit for consumption until further notice.

Oh no!  Not again!  Luckily, we could flush and shower!  That’s a huge relief. 

It was no fault of our resort, we were sympathetic to the difficulty this presented to the staff at LaruBeya with a full house over the busy spring break/Easter week. They dropped off one liter of bottled water to get us through. Last night we received two more liters. Rationing.

Three liters in two days. We usually consume two liters each, per day. It takes over one liter to fill the coffee pot with an equal amount for my tea. As of this morning, there still was no word as to the water being fit for consumption. Soon, we’ll head to the office to check on the availability of more bottled water and ask when the water would be potable. 

Easter is celebrated over a period of five days in Belize.  That time was yet to end, surely having an effect on the water service to the area running properly.

Oddly, we had three water experiences in the four months since we left the US on January 3, 2013:

1.  January 3, 2013, Celebrity Century:  The afternoon we boarded the ship, our cabin toilet overflowed pouring gallons of water all over the tiny bathroom floor Luckily, the rim in the doorway prevented the water from flowing into our cabin.  The toilet wouldn’t flush.  Maintenance was quick to respond making the repair.  With a weak sounding flush we were tentative about the toilet during the entire 15 day cruise as it “acted up” from time to time, no fault of ours.  Later, we heard about toilet issues on the news regarding the two Carnival cruises with sewage running down the hallways.  One week from today we’ll board the Carnival Liberty with a bit of trepidation, rightfully so.
2.  January 29, 2013:  the little beach house water issues (again a result of local water issues) resulting in our moving one week later to LaruBeya.
3.  March 31, 2013, Easter Sunday:  Toilet works (yeah!), shower works (don’t swallow the water) and don’t drink the water for two or more days, yet to be determined.

Without wheels, we can hardly go to a store to purchase water. Plus, we don’t want to pay as much as $20 plus a tip for a cab when at any moment, it could become safe to drink again. The two-mile walk in the heat to and from Seine Bight to buy water would be difficult while carrying jugs of water. We’re not that fit! We don’t want to ask for more water since we aren’t the only guests here. 

Not soda drinkers and now out of our Crystal Lite iced tea (no water to make it), I have yet to make my hot tea today, a morning ritual after downing my usual single cup of coffee. 

Using a touch of our remaining bottled water this morning to brush our teeth, rinse our toothbrushes, and take our vitamins, we used the balance to make a short pot of coffee.  At least the toilet flushes, we can shower and wash our hands.

This is our fate. The familiar taken-for-granted utilities of everyday life in the US are gone.  Last week, the electricity was out twice, each time for more than a few hours, again affecting the entire Placencia peninsula. The resort’s generators were fired up a few hours later until the service resumed, later in the day.

The cable TV goes out several times each day. Every Sunday morning for years, we’ve made an effort to be up and dressed in order to watch Tom’s favorite show, Sunday Morning. This Sunday the cable was out until the last 30 minutes of the show. In Africa, we won’t have any US shows, only reruns of such shows as the Flying Nun, I Love Lucy, and Hollywood Squares.  We’ll adapt.  

As I was writing this, as Tom was taking out the garbage, Rene the concerned and conscientious general manager, handed Tom four liters of water.   Earlier, I had gone to the office to gently request more, if it was available.  Elated, we’re satisfied that this will get us through today. 

Yesterday, I packed most of my clothes from the drawers and the closet.  Today, I’ll pack Tom’s clothes.  Our bags to be shipped to my sister in LA will be completely packed by Friday.  Tom suggested I include all of my high heeled shoes placing them into the bags-to-go.  They take up too much space anyway Perhaps, I’m getting too old for high heeled shoes. 

I’ll keep two pairs of heels, one black, one to match my fancy dress for formal nights on the various cruises.  I’ll keep my water shoes, boots for Africa, workout shoes, multiple pairs of comfy sandals, and white leather Keds, leaving a total of eight pairs to keep. (Remember, we don’t have a home to go back to repack for the next leg of our trip. That which we have with us).

Today, I feel a little anxious. I promised myself I wouldn’t do this. But, old habits, die hard. Tom’s anxious too.  I can tell. He’s worried about our zillion pieces of luggage getting on the tender, out to the ship. I reassure him that soon, we’ll be much lighter. I chose not to worry about that part.   

Instead, my thoughts again swirl around the scary four-hour drive on the Hummingbird Highway. The van’s AC doesn’t reach the back seat and the windows don’t open. I was wrought with fear each time the driver passed a car on the narrow two-lane highway with poor visibility as he maneuvered the winding mountainous roads. The heat, the high-speed drive, the lack of airflow, the bouncy ride in the older van is the part I don’t like. It was a “white knuckle” drive for almost the entire four hours. I didn’t complain. I won’t complain this time either.

I’m running out of contact lens solution, placing a few drops as possible in each space in the case at night.  Unable to wash the case these past few days due to the potential for bacteria in the water, I’ve used bottled water placing the case in a mug in the microwave until boiling, letting it soak for a few hours.

The remaining solution must last until we get on the ship in seven days.  Surely, they’ll have a pricey little bottle I’ll happily buy, enough to last until April 13th, the day we arrive in Miami when we can restock at our planned trip to a nearby Walgreen or CVS pharmacy.

Challenges? Yes. In the realm of life itself, these events are insignificant and meaningless, especially when one looks back at a later time. Very small. But for now, we’ll allow ourselves a little worry and apprehension. Life is filled with a constant flow of inconveniences, annoyances, and apprehension. 

Having left our old lives behind for this year’s long journey surely doesn’t make us exempt from any of the trivialities of daily life.  In reality, we have upped our exposure with the vast opportunities for the “unknown” wherever we may travel.

The sense of relief at the other end is often comparable to making up with a loved one after a horrible disagreement. Its tender, its sweet and one appreciates having survived.  

New camera on its way!…

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V Digital Camera 32GB Package 3 by Sony, priced at $349.

The definitive travel camera from Sony has to be the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V and it might just be the whole package for you. With an incredible, 20x optical zoom Sony G lens and compact body the HX30V can cover all your photographic needs with its 25-500mm focal range. Everything from portraits to landscape is a breeze with this versatile, high-quality lens. The high-speed autofocus and Optical Active SteadyShot image stabilization make for a blur-free pleasing shot and smooth handheld Full HD 1080p video. The high resolution 18.2 megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor is purpose-built for mind-blowing low light performance, making the HX30V a trooper in varying light conditions. The HX30 also includes Wi-Fi connectivity, 3D shooting, and GPS functionality, making it one smooth little package.
Movie Feature – captures Full High Definition video* with audio up to 1920 x 1080 resolution at 50p frames per second for smooth action footage. Optical zoom functions whilst filming.
* We recommend using Class 4 or higher memory cards for recording Full HD video. SDHC and SDXC memory cards are only compatible with their respective devices.

Product Description

Package Contents:

1- Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V Digital Camera w/ All Supplied Accessories
1- 32GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card
1- Rapid External AC/DC Charger Kit
1- USB Memory Card Reader
1- Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Replacement Battery
1- Weather Resistant Carrying Case w/Strap
1- Pack of LCD Screen Protectors
1- Camera & Lens Cleaning Kit System
1- Mini Flexible Table Top Tripod
1- Memory Card Wallet

In our “old lives” taking photos was a constant source of frustration.  As digitally adept as I have always been setting up and running electronics devices, my mind always blanked out when trying to figure out a camera.

Never owning an SLR camera, the photos I took as my kids grew up were all Polaroid, popular in the day.  When the first digital camera hit the market years ago, I was one of their first customers.  The online software, although clunky and cumbersome was a breeze.  Getting a good shot was not.

When we planned our worldwide travels and began this blog in March 2012, I used my Droid X smartphone to take photos with the dumb idea that the phone itself would suffice in our travels. Ha! It was purely my method of denial, I’d have to learn to use a real camera.

We left the US on January 3, 2013, with no camera on hand and with only the Droid X. Each time a photo “op” presented itself, I groaned in my frustration for my lack of interest in buying a camera and learning to use it.  It nagged at me several times a day. 

Need I say that Tom’s interest in learning to use a camera was not only less than mine, but his picture taking skills lagged far behind mine, a fact hard to believe. I can’t even show you any of his photos. In most cases, they end up in the recycle bin.

On our first cruise on the Celebrity Century through the Panama Canal resulted in a “port day” in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  Awakening early that morning, a thought pulsed through my mind as a lay there contemplating our day.  It was the day to get off the ship and buy a camera. 

Posing these thoughts to Tom, he tentatively agreed but expressed concern as to where we’d find a store to buy a camera.  The ship had docked early in the morning.  Jumping out of bed we looked out the window. Alas, there was a Wal-Mart in plain sight, across and down the street from the pier!

We’d never shopped at a Wal-Mart store in Minnesota. With the closest location a half-hour drive, it didn’t seem worth the gas to drive there.  Thus, we stayed away. Once or twice in the past many years, I had stopped in for cleaning supplies or the like when I was in the area. That was the extent of our Walmart experience. 

The story of the walk to the Wal-Mart store in Puerto Vallarta and the subsequent purchase of the camera in a store where no English was spoken, is available in our ARCHIVES listed on the right side of our homepage for January 7, 2013. 

The photos we’ve posted since January 7, 2013, have been with the new camera an inexpensive Samsung valued around $100 in the US for which we paid slightly more in Mexico.  Up to this point it has served us well.  It’s lightweight, takes reasonably good photos but has limitations, the major being poor night photos and another is the necessity of plugging the camera into my laptop. 

In addition, Samsung has no memory card to slip into the laptop, an oddity in this day and age.  We knew this when we purchased it in Mexico.   At that point we were desperate.  If we didn’t purchase a camera that day, we might lose the desire to purchase one at all.  This fleeting thought had a grip on me while Tom joined in on the fanfare.

On Thursday night while the moon rose high in the sky in its glory, we anguished over our inability to get a good shot, continually running back inside to plug in the camera to review the photo.  We couldn’t, no matter the setting, get a decent shot.  The decision was made.  We need to purchase a higher quality camera.

I have been in love with Bluetooth technology, wanted a camera that was highly rated, affordable, easy to use and was WiFi-enabled. This would allow us to take a photo, immediately sending it to this blog, to Facebook or other social media or to either of our computers, without cords or cards, along with the ability to send it by email to anyone as long as we have an Internet connection.

Now one might ask…how does one have access to the Internet when we’re walking the winding roads of Tuscany with no Internet connection or, while on safari in Kenya?  Ah, we’ve got that covered. With our XCOM Global MiFi device in our pocket, we’ll be online at most times (based on the connectivity of a general area).

Taking a photo, we’ll immediately be able to send it via email anywhere we choose.  Wow!  I love technology. A WiFi-enabled camera is a fairly new technology, although there have been many attempts by a variety of manufactures to fulfill this consumer desired feature.   

There’s no doubt that we may be making this purchase a year or so too early, as advancement in this feature will grow exponentially.  Willing to take the risk along with a commitment to fully learn the new camera’s nuances, we’re anxious to get started.

On Thursday, after hours of research, we made the purchase at Amazon for the WiFi-enabled camera.  How will we receive it?  We’ve got that covered.

When our mailing service in Nevada receives the camera (shipping was free from Amazon) in the next week, the mailing service will include it in the large box of supplies we’ll receive to be held at the UPS store in Miami Beach for our pickup on April 13, 2013, when our ship is in port for the day. 

If for any reason, it doesn’t arrive by the time the large box goes out from Las Vegas, Nevada to Miami Beach, Miami, we’ll be back in Miami Beach for yet another port day on April 20, 2013, when we prepare to leave on our journey across the ocean to Barcelona, Spain.

The idiom, “the devil is in the details” prevails in our lives.  We had no delusions that traveling the world would consist of lounging on a veranda, reading a book, looking up only to dreamily stare at the sea or to say hello to a passerby. 

Moving every two to three months and the journey to get there is daunting as well as learning a new location and its cultures, maintaining our financial health, paying bills (insurance and paying off credit cards every few weeks to keep them clear for future use to avoid paying exchange fees), keeping tax records, continually updating our budget by entering every dollar spent, printing tickets/boarding passes, registering for upcoming cruises, checking airfare, booking air travel and…the most dreaded task…packing and unpacking.

Life traveling the world is glorious but as we all know, there’s no “free lunch.” There’s always a price we must pay whether its in time, monetarily, emotionally, or physically.  We’ve chosen to “pay the price” with our time and our attention to detail, with a passionate desire to get the hard parts accomplished as painlessly, efficiently, and quickly as possible. 

With only eight days remaining until we get back on the scary Hummingbird Highway for the four-hour drive back to Belize City to board our ship, the Carnival Liberty (yikes, Carnival! Hope the toilets don’t overflow), today is the day we begin to pack.

The three large bags that we’ll send to my dear sister in Los Angeles, must be packed and ready to ship on April 13th. Today, we’ll begin to make the final decisions on clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous for which we’re willing to “say goodbye.”  

Photos (on the old camera) will follow as we weave through this process. Check back if you can.

We hope you had a memorable Easter. The recipe for the Zucchini casserole is not worth sharing after all. 

Happy Easter! Let them eat cake…

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Last year’s bunny rabbit cake, chocolate on the inside, fluffy white frosting and coconut on the outside.  The little ones are the baby bunnies of which there were six, for each of the grandchildren to take home.

Our old lives consisted of a series of cakes, gooey, fattening and mouth watering.  Not particularly skilled with small handiwork, the decorating was often uneven, messy and at times, laughable.

Oh, what a mess!  We should have turned the air conditioning on for me to make this cake
this morning.  As hard as I tried the decorate it, the Cool Whip slipped off the cake in the heat and humidity.  Hurriedly, I placed it in the fridge with the hope of“fixing” it when it hardens.  The Cool Whip we bought a few days ago must have been frozen and refrozen.  I defrosted it in the fridge yesterday but today it was runny withgobs of liquid at the bottom of the container.  Oh, well, another laughable cake that hopefully will taste great for our guests after tonight’s Easter dinner.

They were always made with love to please the palates of whomever would experience them, invariably to rave reviews in the flavor department amid chuckles on the actual décor.  The design attempt was always playful and at times clever but the execution less so.  This didn’t prevent Tom or any of our kids and grandkids from enjoying them any less.

      Each year on the 4th of July I made this flag cake white cake with Cool Whip, fresh strawberries and blueberries
With our new way of eating the days of baking cakes, pies and various confections has long since wafted away, leaving my love of baking in the dust.  I’ve discovered it wasn’t the eating of the cake that I missed but the preparation and subsequent somewhat braggadocio displaying of my most recent “prize.”

Every year at Easter I baked the bunny rabbit cake, chocolate on the inside, fluffy white frosting on the outside, all covered with coconut, comparable to a Hostess Snowball.  The cake was big enough for everyone to take home a substantial portion (our Tammy always took the tail) leaving us a generous piece to devour over a few days. 

In our old lives, I frequently made this ice cream cake for Tom and I during the summer.  We’d eat the entire thing in four nights!  Piglets.
In my old “low fat” wheat eating days, I’d splurge for a few days while Tom and I hovered over the remains after dinner, graciously deciding which of us should take the slightly larger piece.  I always insisted I had to “watch my figure’ and shoved the bigger piece at him. 
  Ah, once in awhile it was pie as opposed to a cake. This is an old recipe from Tom’s family for butterscotch pie.  Making the filling over the hot stove was challenging but making the meringue was a easy using 12 egg whites, sugar, 1 tsp of cream of tarter

In time, Tom packed on the pounds from my baking leaving us relatively cake-free in our new lives. I counted calories to keep my weight at bay (no  more!).  Since our new way of eating began, he’s lost the 45 pound of cake that had gone directly to his belly. 

Today, he’ll eat cake and again and I’ll send our guests home with a piece for later.  No, I won’t take a taste.  It’s not hard for me to resist anymore, feeling as well as I do. But, its fun to make it, fun to be a “cake voyeur” and fun to share it with others.

   No, I didn’t bake Tom’s retirement cake.  Raven, who worked at the Cub Foods store in Shorewood, Minnesota, made this cake merely with an idea and a drawing I’d given her.  Amazing, job!

Oh, here’s our menu for today, a real mish-mash utilizing foods easy to find here in Placencia Belize:

  • Homemade Crunchy Red, Green Cabbage & Carrot Salad 
  • Tomato, Cucumber and Feta Salad
  • Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna (will post recipe later if its good)
  • Sautéed Buttery Garlic Locally Caught Grouper (thanks Nancy & Roger!)
  • Mozzarella, from Caves Branch Cheese Factory in Belmopan, Belize, stuffed grass fed organic ground steak meatballs, topped with low carb marinara sauce and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese, also from Caves Branch
  • The above messy chocolate cherry cake, hopefully to be “repaired’ before serving.

So today, eat cake, eat Peeps, eat chocolate bunnies and have a wonderful Easter filled day with memory making events and love.  Tomorrow is another day.

Scanning and new method of shredding…Yikes, tax time!

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Receipts as they went through the Doxie portable scanner.

Our taxes have been done for a few weeks.  Per our accountant’s recommendation, we are to keep all of our receipts that may prove to be tax-deductible. 

Now that we’ve added advertisers to our site, been asked to write articles for various publications and web sites, and do a podcast (we’ll share these once published), there are some opportunities for a few write-offs. 

Of course, we can’t write off any of our vacation rentals, personal meals, cruises, and basic living expenses.  But, we can, from time to time, write off expenses relative to a specific situation.

Many have asked, “Will you have to pay taxes in the US if you live outside the US on a more permanent basis?” such as we are doing, as do many US ex-pats. The answer is an absolute “yes.” One would have to forfeit their citizenship and its resulting social security benefits for any other answer. That for us will never happen.

Receipt soaking in hot water in the kitchen sink.

With our taxes sent in by our trusty accountant Steve Thomas, via “e-file” we were left with a humongous pile of receipts we most certainly don’t want to carry with us around the world. 

We have our portable Doxie scanner with us.  A few weeks ago, we purchased a clear plastic sheet at the tiny office supply store in the village, in which to place multiple receipts, subsequently to scan, one sheet at a time.   

Yesterday, as Tom unrolled and unfolded the slips of paper, many affected by the humidity, I got to work on the scanning.  Less than an hour later, we were done.  But, on the floor lie a pile of receipts, enough to fill an entire trash can.

A while back, without a portable shredder (all were too heavy to pack), we were in a quandary as to a suitable method to dispose of these receipts. We’d decided on a plan which has served us well. Keep in mind, none of the credit card receipts had our full account numbers displayed.  In most cases, only the last four digits were visible, if at all.

Grape sized “little balls of” torn receipts.

Years ago, the full account number had been displayed.  Now with rampant identity theft and the last four digits alone on the receipt, it’s a daunting task for thieves to decipher the full number. They have easier methods in which to acquire our account numbers which I won’t mention here.

Placing the receipts into a large plastic bag, I decided to implement our method of destroying the slips without a shredder, without tearing or cutting them into tiny pieces or distributing parts of them in various trash cans. 

Dumping the entire bag of receipts into a pre-filled sink of hot water, we left them to soak for several hours. At this point, we reached into the sink and starting tearing the receipts into small pieces, quite easy to do requiring only a few minutes. During the soaking time, much of the print dissipated as the paper became the consistency of wet toilet paper.

Once the receipts were in this changed state, we reached into the sink extracting small enough portions to make ‘little balls” the size of a small grape.

Placing all these “little balls” on the back of the toilet, we drop one ball into the toilet each time we flush throughout the remainder of the day.  One ball at a time.

Yes, I know there are people that will say this shouldn’t be done for various reasons.  If you aren’t comfortable with the idea of flushing them and you don’t have access to a scanner, one can place the “balls” into the garbage, first pouring tomato juice over them.  The acid in the juice will further destroy the paper.

But then again, we all throw toilet paper with colors and dyes on it into the toilet bowl each day.  The printing on the receipts is often thermal printing, most of which dissipates during the soaking.  If we didn’t destroy these “little balls” this way, they’d end of in a landfill.  There’s no perfect disposal process as yet.  Perhaps, in time, there will be.

With one more task completed, we prepare ourselves for the tasks to be completed in the remaining days 10 days in Placencia Belize.

As for the moment, we are situated on our comfy lounge chairs on the veranda.  There isn’t a hint of a breeze and the surf is quiet and almost still. I’m sipping on a m hiug of my favorite tea, Pouchong. 

Soon, our diligent and hard-working guest services staff will arrive to clean, change the linen and restock our household supplies.  Our favorite is Gloria whom we’ve come to adore.  Her commitment and joy to serve our needs is humbling. Yesterday, we hugged in a heartfelt embrace. I will miss her warmth and kindness, so much the way of the local Mayan people. 

Gently, kindly and respectfully, she gracefully handles all of the guest complaints of which there are many.  We see and hear it every day as the constant turnover of travelers brings new complaints to handle.  She never falters in her strength and courage. We chose not to complain. It’s not in our budget.

Today, we’ll prep for our upcoming Easter dinner for four. Soon we’ll walk along the beach, taking special care to spot stingrays who often flutter about the shallow waters along the surf.  Tonight, we’ll meet up with new friends Lori and Larry for our last buffer dinner at Robert’s Grove Resort.

May I say it again… we are grateful. For the people we meet, for the friends we make along the way, for the ongoing opportunity somehow bestowed upon us, no more deserving than the next person. 

Have a happy Easter, happy Passover, happy holiday, whatever you may celebrate, wherever you may be.